2010 USSF Division-2 Pro League Kicks Off this Weekend with Eight Teams in Action

NewsApr 8, 2010

Carolina RailHawks and AC St. Louis Open Season on Saturday Night;All 180 Games During Season Can be Viewed Live Via Streaming Video on Club Websites

CHICAGO (April 7, 2010) – The 2010 USSF Division-2 Pro League season will kick off this weekend with eight teams in action. The Carolina RailHawks will host the first of two opening-day matches when first-year club AC St. Louis visits WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., on Saturday, April 10 at 7 p.m. ET. That match will be closely followed by the contest between the Rochester Rhinos and Miami FC at Lockhart Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Two more matches round out the weekend on April 11 when the Montreal Impact visits the Austin Aztex at House Park in Austin, Texas, at 7 p.m. ET and the NSC Minnesota Stars head to Swangard Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, to take on Vancouver Whitecaps FC, also at 7 p.m. ET.

U.S. Soccer, in conjunction with Ooyala, a leading provider of end-to-end video platform applications and services, has announced that all 180 D-2 Pro League matches will be available to watch via streaming video free of charge. The live match video will be broadcast via each club’s website, giving fans access to watch every game of the season at no cost. For local television coverage, fans and media should visit the participating team websites for a broadcast schedule.

Each of the 12 teams participating in the league will play 30 regular season games. The 12 teams are divided into two conferences – the USL Conference and the NASL Conference. The USL Conference includes Austin Aztex, NSC Minnesota, Portland Timbers, Puerto Rico Islanders, Rochester Rhinos and Tampa Bay Rowdies. The NASL Conference will consist of Crystal Palace Baltimore, Carolina RailHawks, Miami FC, Montreal Impact, AC St. Louis and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

The season will come to an end on Oct. 3, with the playoffs beginning the following week. Eight teams will advance to the postseason, with the winners of each conference earning the top two seeds. The next six teams with the most points during the regular season from either conference will also move on to the playoffs.

The first round, semifinal round and championship will be home-and-away series determined by aggregate goals. The final details for the playoff dates and location of the championship match will be announced at a later date.